Trump Offers List Of 11 Potential Supreme Court Nominees

Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump released a list of 11 prospective Supreme Court justices on Wednesday that he would consider nominating if he were to become president.

Following the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, Trump called on the senate to delay approving his replacement during an election year and promised to nominate someone in the conservative icon’s mold.

In his Wednesday release, Trump stated, “Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms. He was a Justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the Constitution of our country.”

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The candidate listed 11 people that he would consider to replace Scalia and any other Supreme Court vacancies that may occur during a Trump presidency. The liberal news outlet Raw Story noted, though Trump’s list includes both men and women, there are no ethnic minorities.

Among the businessman’s choices are Justice Joan Larsen of the Michigan Supreme Court, who clerked for Scalia and gave a eulogy at a memorial service for him; Utah Supreme Court Justice Thomas Lee, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and is the brother of Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah; 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Pryor, a Pres. George W. Bush appointee, who Senate Democrats initially, successfully filibustered, citing his forthright pro-life views, among other conservatives views; 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diana Sykes, a Bush appointee, a strong respecter of the 2nd Amendment; and 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Steven Colloton, a Bush appointee, who clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. See the full list and their bios here.

One of the Republican rallying cries regarding the importance of the upcoming presidential election is the crucial role the next Chief Executive will play in filling federal court vacancies. The federal courts, at all levels, have played a pivotal role, as a check on Pres. Obama’s overweening executive authority in the eyes of conservatives, including rulings blocking Obamacare mandates, so-called executive amnesty, and environmental regulations.

A President Hillary Clinton would likely have the chance to fill up to three Supreme Court vacancies, along with numerous lower court openings, with liberal judges.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, deemed Trump’s selections “an impressive list of highly qualified jurists, including Judge Colloton from Iowa, who understands and respects the fundamental principle that the role of the courts is limited and subject to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Politico reported.

Nan Aron, the president of the liberal Alliance for Justice Action Council, said “The list includes some of the most extreme conservatives on the federal bench today.”